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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

Saint-Maurice de Saint-Maurice-la-Clouère Church, located in the Vienne department in New Aquitaine, dates from the late 11th or early 12th century. It is characterized by a rare ground in Poitou and a romantic bedside with absidioles, with foothills and blind arcades. Its bell tower, transformed into a defence tower in the 16th century, evokes a dungeon rather than a traditional bell tower. The building, built in calcareous medium, preserves marks of stone tailors on its walls and carved capitals representing animals and geometric patterns.

The interior houses 14th and 16th century murals, partially erased by moisture, including a Christ in majesty surrounded by the symbols of the Evangelists in the abside. The nave, flanked by two collaterals of almost identical height, is illuminated by bays in the middle of a ring typical of the poitevin novel. The northern gate, adorned with three carved windows (griffons, fleurons, palmettes) and capitals of birds and quadrupeds, bears witness to an artistic influence of the thirteenth century.

Classified as a historical monument in 1890 for the building and in 1938 for its communal land, the church illustrates the transition between the Romanesque and Poitevin art. Its dimensions (20 m wide by 30 m long) and its transept with oriented apsidioles make it a remarkable example of medieval religious architecture. The modillons of the cornice, the veins of the dome on pendants and the secular paintings (like boats in the right side) highlight its heritage wealth.

The defensive transformations of the bell tower in the 16th century reflect the troubles of that time, while the seigneurial liter recalls the link between the church and the local lords. Today, it remains a major testimony of the Romanesque heritage in Poitou, combining religious, defensive and artistic functions.

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